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Sticker shock: FBI cancels iPad buy

By GCN Staff

Sep 09, 2011

Budget constraints have forced the FBI to withdraw its recent solicitation for 600 iPads, NextGov reports.

In May, the bureau released a request for offers seeking bids on 600 black 16G iPad 2s and 600 gray Smart Covers for investigators working in the field. But in an era of budget belt-tightening, the total price of $400,800 proved too high for this fiscal year, according to FBI Special Agent Ann Todd.

The FBI will revisit the potential purchase again in fiscal 2012, Todd said.

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Reader Comments

Wed, Sep 21, 2011

Fri, Sep 16, 2011

Other Agencies will gladly buy all of those iPADs and more. After all those are the ONLY tablets in the world.

Tue, Sep 13, 2011
Sparx

Why go with Verizon or ATT 3G service when 4G service is available from T-Mobile (speed) or unlimited data is available from Sprint (no bill surprises)? Get the Wi-Fi only version and tether it wirelessly to their current agency-provided cellular device.

Mon, Sep 12, 2011
IA Guy
DC Area

I have asked about and still no answer on this: Does IPAD have an effective event log capability? Does IPAD have an effective and FISMA compliant DAR and/or DLP implementation? If nobody can answer this, then how can any USG agency even consider the use of the IPAD at this time? I get the form factor benefits. I have an IPAD and love to use it, but for a USG agency I see many shortfalls to the policies that they are supposed to follow.

Mon, Sep 12, 2011
Daddy
Washington

The TCO beyond the basic device starts to add up really quickly--you have to add crypto software to protect what is obviously going to be sensitive data, and then there is the cost of getting new applications written, and of modifying existing applications to support the iPad configurations, and then there is the monthly cost of AT&T or Verizon 3G data service. (Verizon has a list price of $629 for these units for month-to-month contract, plus $30-$100 per month for data plus $10 per GB for excess data.)